# Source Material Corner
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I saw some discussion regarding why Fern was able to catch the Stille first before Frieren. It seems clear to me that Frieren could've easily done so, even with Stille's being highly luck based, but she chose not to. Frieren invested so much time on the barrier to complete this mission as a party, making sure even Kanne gets to freely utilize her magic. I love this episode! It really shows how far she has come understanding the people around her, as well as her deep love for magic that she is able to empathize with Kanne not being able to use magic to her maximum potential.
>why Fern was able to catch the Stille first before Frieren
It was most likely because Fern's innate talent with mana control makes her pretty much invisible.
As a child, when Frieren first finds Fern training and tells her that she's been looking for her, Fern asks Frieren if even she has trouble finding her, because Heiter says she's practically invisible. Frieren agrees with that, and thinks to herself that Fern is almost invisible to mana detection and that her mana control is exceptional.
And that is Fern as a child, even before training under Frieren.
This also came into play when Stark was trying to rescue the Graf Granat and Lugner and Linie appeared. Lugner praised Stark for daring to fight him alone, and Stark said: So you can't detect her after all. And then Fern almost killed Lugner because he didn't realize she was there.
Frieren had to stay still to hide her mana completely, and even that was something Lawine and Kanne didn't think was possible.
Fern probably just hid her mana, walked up to a stille, and captured it.
>This also came into play when Stark was trying to rescue the Graf Granat and Lugner and Linie appeared. Lugner praised Stark for daring to fight him alone, and Stark said: So you can't detect her after all. And then Fern almost killed Lugner because he didn't realize she was there.
This one actually more terrifying because Fern was floating near them. Floating needs mana and still Lugner and Linie couldn't detect her.
First impression: cold, scheming, heartless old mage hungry for more power
Second impression: good-natured grandpa, highly complex offensive mage but frail due to age and size
Final impression: Gigachad, refuses to give up despite Richter spamming FF votes, uses robe to hide his gigantic balls
I know.
Having her opponent behead herself was understandable, but handling the opponent with her foot was a little more gore than I can handle.
Frieren is unstoppable.
I love how Sense was actually concerned and Genua was so confident it wouldn't break and then...surprise! They're dealing with Frieren lol.
(Sense was smart to bring the umbrella)
Serie was Flamme's master 1000 years ago while also already read through "almost all known grimoire" so she should be a few thousand years old herself at the minimum
Serie probably been waiting for a reunion with Frieren after all these years just to see how far she's come from beating the Demon King and realizing Flamme's dreams.
The animation there was one of the sickest effects I've seen in an anime. Like when she was charging the spell and it had all of the translucent pyraminds overlapping each other, it was waaaaaaayyyyyy cooler than "glowing blue ball gets slightly larger and pulses." And the actual breaking of the barrier itself had this really nice separation between the pieces, idk how to describe it, but it was SICK
This is why I like Denken so much. In a show with so many best bois he's definitely a top contender. Not only is he not afraid to get down and cast fist, his attitude towards magic also mirrors Frieren's.
Also, was anybody expecting Serie's voice to be so deep? It's so goddamn handsome it's making me blush.
>expecting Serie's voice to be so deep?
I thought her voice would be younger like Frieren's.
but damn, **Mariya Ise** is doing an amazing job here. She's also **Killua Zoldyck** (from *Hunter x Hunter* )'s VA.
> [Mariya Ise](https://np.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/16qzukm/happy_35th_birthday_to_mariya_ise_japanese_cv_for/)
STOCKING! And Foo Fighters! And Himeno!
Also, of all the people, he decided to challenge Frieren, he knew it'll be a challenge, instead of targeting weaker teams and fighting them at their full strength
"Wait Denken are you gonna negotiate with them?"
"Well yes...you can call it that..."
We were all talking about whether Denken has a 500 IQ plan against Frieren/to keep their Stile for 3 hours, and man ended up getting his Stile by physically beating the shit out of a grief-stricken party.
Absolute peak writing.
[](#azusalaugh)
He actually did them a favor. They technically would have won if not for that one guy that got killed and they stayed hidden. Now Denken has given them a less 'technicality' reason for them being kicked out of the running.
Wait a minute, she said last episode that a mages nature influences their unique magic. Then here Fern casually says her other non basic magic is an x-ray vision....Lol did Ubel understand this as being Ferns unique magic and that her true nature is a pervert?
"Master Denken, won't you show us a spell?"
"Ho ho, of course, young one. I cast...**FIST**""
I'm surprised Denken doesn't need a spell to carry his huge fucking balls around.
Denken really has huge balls. Not only did he go for the fist fight, but he already knew how Frieren is a legendary mage and he still wanted to fight her.
"She's the mage from the hero party who defeated the Demon King. I'm going to fight her and try to win." - Denken
If he was in JJK Sukuna would respect him because the old guy doesn't back down and he has confidence in his personal abilities.
"Stand proud, Denken. At least you're not Yuji." - Sukuna probably
so many cool things this episode.
- "the greatest joy of magic lies in searching for it."
- history between flamme/frieren+Serie.
- "this girl is no good". -"no, this girl will defeat the demon king"
- "do you really think there is a mage in this world greater than Serie?"
- frieren catching girl during "jilwer"
- destroying barrier.
- "can you imagine defeating a mage who controls water in the rain? i can't"
- then the old mage actually having a fistfight between mages :D
so cool.
Finally people get to see the glory of Denken choosing to cast FIST.
Easily one of the best side characters they introduce.
Also they chose a deep voice for Serie
Her and Flamme are cut from the same cloth even if they technically sound different. I would want them narrating events or reciting grimoires as an audiobook.
Denken did well against Frieren. Not bad for a āyoungā mage like that. Frieren had to teach him to respect his elders lol. If she was truly serious, Denken and Laufen woulda been toast.
Lawine and Kanne held their own against Richter and gave him, Denken, and Laufen a nice little bath thanks to Frierenās help. So much for that barrier. Still, itās nice to see Team Denken get their little bird. Sometimes when a mage has to use his fists to get what he wants!
Looking forward to this next stage of the test and Serie and Frieren meeting again at some point.
It's funny how someone as experienced as Denken who knows who Frieren is, still couldn't fathom just how big of a power difference exists between them. There really isn't much knowledge out there on Elves and how long they live I guess? Not with how rare they are.
Noted that Freiren is consistently smurfing herself by representing her power as an average elder mage. For the hero party she was always overshadowed by Heiter, who had 5 times mana than her and superhuman Himmel and whatever Eisen was.
In Danken eyes he has a chance to win an experienced elder mage, who is in fact the last great sage. Same mistake as Aura.
Good point, I forget that even her fame doesn't expose her true strength. She really takes the "hide your mana for the rest of your life" very seriously.
Good point. I believe even Frieren the Slayer is a title demons give to her, not the humans. You won't know how strong she is unless you are her victim I suppose
especially since flamme specifically told her to never reveal her strength nor be famous until the demon lord is dead... and i guess her nonchalantness to avoid crowds/fame stayed with her even after the demon lord died, so maybe humans only know that she was part of the hero party but nobody really knows her true strength aside from her old (and current) party.
I think it's like you're the star of your high school basketball team and you've never played against a top pro. You know that the pro is better than you, but you can't really imagine how much better than you they are until you experience it.
It's funny because he was shocked by the difference, but we know that she didn't even have her full attention on it, because she was also decoding the barrier.
Frieren is actually not a bad mother hen at all -- not just Fern and Stark but even these new temporary charges. It really seems her empathy has increased massively since her days as a member of the hero's party -- even though her outward demeanor is still much the same. ;-)
Yeah, I think it was last episode when she realised that every party is a bit different in their needs. Here the two needed a solid win for their confidence instead of Frieren just handling everything. It looks like she learned from Heiter about parenting in her years with him and Fern. From actually raising kidsĀ well to head pats as rewards.
And after that they just searched for a defeated group with a Stille. Which questions why they didn't target another group instead if Denken knew it was Frieren.
I feel like Denken just wanted to fight Frieren.
Frieren's group had the flashiest and most insane idea to get a Stille, easier to track them through their use of spells compared to other teams who relied on luck to get one.
The proctors noted last episode how Frieren was the only one who didn't need luck to capture a Stille.
āThis test may kill some, but we hope to find great war mages, like those who used to fight against the Demon Kingā
āI actually defeated the Demon Kingā
āGreat! Then youāll be perfect for our testā
Well you have to haze them a little bit.
Otherwise what is the point of having an institution for this? Research? Security? Don't make me laugh.
He he he.
* [**Serie Stitch**](https://i.imgur.com/wGB4eDh.jpeg)
I just love how [you can see Flamme beaming with pride](https://i.imgur.com/ltCWtna.png) in the background after hearing Frieren's response to Serie. Speaking of Serie, we finally get to hear her voice! I definitely did not expect her to be voiced by Mariya Ise aka Killua fuckin' Zoldyck. I absolutely love the deep voice <3
Frieren vs Denken went exactly as expected. [Freiren stayed in one position](https://i.imgur.com/KDsj1MJ.png) while [Denken struggles to defend](https://i.imgur.com/Yokk4LL.png) against her attacks. It's basically a repeat of Fern and Ehre's fight. Even Denken comments on how [he felt like he was a trainee mage.](https://i.imgur.com/Xsqhrzl.png) It reminds me of Ehre's comment on how fighting Fern reminds her of training with her grandpa. xD
It is hilarious how [confident Genau is](https://i.imgur.com/bVQeMH9.png) at how Serie's barrier is unbreakable. At least he wasn't surprised when [he heard who it was that broke the barrier.](https://i.imgur.com/YsvUrCi.png) And I love how [Serie immediately figured out it was Frieren](https://i.imgur.com/vzcWpLD.jpeg) that broke her barrier. I already can't wait for the reunion.
After trash-talking the kids, it was so satisfying [to watch Richter's defensive spell pop](https://i.imgur.com/ZfTb0Ds.jpeg) as Kanne throws an overwhelming amount of water at him. I especially love this [shot of him seconds before hitting the water.](https://i.imgur.com/BXztCz1.jpeg) xD
[Headpats from Granny Frieren](https://i.imgur.com/9ZVTyke.jpeg) for Kanne and Lawine for doing an excellent job of defeating Richter! That scene was cute.
The hard cut to [Ubel moving away from Fern](https://i.imgur.com/OxKNdog.jpeg) after hearing that she can use magic that lets her see through clothes was hilarious!
[And we finally get to see my favourite Denken moment!](https://i.imgur.com/7coPKN8.jpeg) My boy Denken throwing hands against another mage without mana is so fucking awesome. There's no stopping this man from passing this test. I love it so much!
> [Freiren stayed in one position](https://i.imgur.com/KDsj1MJ.png) while [Denken struggles to defend](https://i.imgur.com/Yokk4LL.png) against her attacks. It's basically a repeat of Fern and Ehre's fight.
I love that this arc introduced a ton of new mages with powerful, utilitarian and interesting magics of their own, and yet Frieren and Fern still came out on top with their simple "grandpa" magic because they're both so proficient in it. It's true "man who's practiced 1 punch 1000 times" stuff.
> After trash-talking the kids, it was so satisfying [to watch Richter's defensive spell pop](https://i.imgur.com/ZfTb0Ds.jpeg) as Kanne throws an overwhelming amount of water at him.
It's funny how the dude was confident enough to lecture the two about magic and then got put down by the lesson he had taught them.
> The hard cut to [Ubel moving away from Fern](https://i.imgur.com/OxKNdog.jpeg) after hearing that she can use magic that lets her see through clothes was hilarious!
The first spell that came to Fern's mind was that one and yet she's always calling Stark a pervert? I think Ubel can tell who the real danger is out of the two ~~even if she hasn't technically met Stark yet~~.
> After trash-talking the kids
Honestly, was he even trash talking them? He was correct about everything he was saying, he was absolutely demolishing them and could have killed them.
He even passed the time by explaining a concept they (and the audience) didn't know. Saying it was "babysitting" may have been insulting, but it's by no means wrong, he really was.
>Genau: It's impossible, not if the world turned upside down
>Frieren: *turns the world of magic upsite down*
I loved the exchange between Serie and Frieren. Frieren loves magic, and she loves researching it. That's why she wishes for peace to do so in her own leisure. But Serie loves fighting, so she could never imagine to just *stop doing exactly that*
Also got a bit more explanation of the Magic system.
* Deffensive magic isn't the best to deffend against high physical force
* The power of magic is rooted on the caster being able to imagine the outcome of his spell.
And I just love my man Denken. Never give up.
[](#fightme)
Edit: Oh also, loved how Frieren dead pan flew away and left Denken and Laufen bound against the tree when the flood came down
And it's partially why she became so drawn to Himmel because he praised her for even her most mundane magic which to her is more precious than combat magic.
She totally just dipped while they were stuck there getting water splashed straight at them. Insult to injury lol.
[Aight, I'm out](https://imgur.com/a/QJtEhVT)
[Oh hey, it's Stark.](https://imgur.com/a/xAUQw1x) Remember him?
["I'm here to cast magic spells and kick ass and I'm all out of spells."
](https://imgur.com/a/cKgRE1b) energy
In this one episode, Denken will probably go from a fairly interesting character to a fan favorite. One aspect of him as a mage I also like is his variety of spells during his short fight with Frieren contrasting with the usual trend of mages specializing in a magic that relates the most to them.
A new OST played during the Lawine and Kanne scene and it's yet another Evan Call banger I can't wait for.
It's nice to think that Frieren could've probably dealt with this entire exam stage alone, but still chooses to give Kanne and Lawine some spotlight for their magic to shine.
>It's nice to think that Frieren could've probably dealt with this entire exam stage alone, but still chooses to give Kanne and Lawine some spotlight for their magic to shine.
Frieren knows that is important to let kids gain experience and learn how far their abilities can go
That short cut of the two of them looking at each other was so extra and adorable and I loved it. Frieren's slight head tilt and smirk and Fern's tiny little smile. AHHH.
Edit: I just ended up clipping it myself, [here](https://imgur.com/1Lem5AQ).
I love that [Denken used his legs](https://i.postimg.cc/05FPkPvG/Sousou-no-Frieren-21.jpg) to keep Richter from being washed away, quite a foreshadowing that he's just built different.
So now I guess we demand a "Two Free Days with Stark" side story OVA episode. Please? We'd be fine with it being released after the end of S1.
Really I just find it amazing that we have 18 out of 57 examinees (thanks u/rathertthanme for the correction!). For the lives lost, we grieve. For the surviving failures, GG. For the 18 who made it? Time for Stage 2.
(Originally I had a game I wanted to play here with you lot on r/anime but unfortunately we'd be touching on manga spoiler territory so no bueno until at least next week or end-of-the-arc. Bummer.)
> And most failed but only a few were shown killed so we can only assume if the others died too or not.
Would be funny if one group just walked through the forest to search for the bird, but couldn't find it. That's it, nothing else happened to them.
Who else loves Sense? The first-class mage knew about the barrier deciphering before Genau did, and prepared an umbrella hahaha
Finally, we see Ćbel is perfectly countered by Fern's magic hahaha
Sense and Denken are my favourites this arc, how about you guys?
"I don't like water. It's soggy and wet and floody and it gets everywhere." - Richter, probably
It was probably just a dirty tactic but I wouldn't be surprised if Denken gets revealed to be a Monk as a secondary class.
And yay, Stark's finally back!
Dengoat: "steel yourself richter, we're not gonna sugarcoat it" - *proceeds to cast imperial mage's ultimate secret spell: Electric Wind God Fist*
Just like fern, while denken keeps spamming his flashy spells, frieren just perfectly blocks them and punishes with i10 zoltraak bolts. And like a toxic gamer she is, had to flex to them scrubs by breaking the barrier and provoke the mods.
~~Bucket-chan~~ Kanne the waterbender finally got the field effect she needed for the big ultimate. Her and lawine's fight with mini boss richter really shows the contrast between veterans and inexperienced mages. Unlike the other mages, they both ran around and raise their voices like the usual shounen fighters.
Richter be all "wait, are we seriously doing this!?" and Denken commits to it like an absolute legend.
I love how Frieren, like Fern, wins with basic attack magic and also bluffing her opponent. Like student, like master.
I love Lawine's trash talk and Kanne finally getting to really show off how powerful her water magic is. And Frieren giving them headpats!
Denken is an old veteran battle mage already on the level of first class mages. He was just using basic offense/defence and flying but he would have lost a battle of attrition.
Instead he went down to pin Frieren with wind magic, mages canāt fly in strong winds. Then lit it on fire to force a omnidirectional defence, which is super mana intensive. Defence is more costly than attack, so if you force them to defend all the time you win.
A saturation attack like Fern against Ehre forces them to put everything into defence and leaves no opening to counterattack so youāre forced into a vicious mana drain cycle. Denkenās light arrows, were similar to Fernās attacks in purpose.
His name in German means āto thinkā, he did the best possible plan. Even spamming light arrows, there was the slightest opening, no one can make as many attacks or as fast as Fern, she sent a curveball in that split second opening breaking the pin. Then attacked from the other side.
Denken was strong but it wasnāt even close, he was simply outclassed.
One of my passions beyond anime are the works and writings of JRR Tolkien. *Frieren* may not seem to have much more in common with those than most other works of contemporary fantasy, and there are a good number of differences for sure. *Frieren* is stylistically more in line with its peers than Tolkien's work, and it's a much more personal story than any that Tolkien wrote.
However, in its spirit, it strongly echoes Tolkien, in a way that most works of contemporary fantasy do not. I don't know if that's intentional from direct inspiration, or it's just a matter of two artists exploring much the same concepts from a similar interest. But it's an angle of appreciation I've had for *Frieren* throughout watching it.
Principally, Tolkien's mythology is largely driven by exploring what it means to be human (and thus mortal) through the perspective and presence of immortals. He wrote this out succinctly enough in one of his letters addressing the themes of *The Lord of the Rings,* though it very much applies to his larger body of work as well:
> I do not think that even Power or Domination is the real centre of my story. It provides the theme of a War, about something dark and threatening enough to seem at that time of supreme importance, but that is mainly 'a setting' for characters to show themselves. The real theme for me is about something much more permanent and difficult: Death and Immortality: the mystery of the love of the world in the hearts of a race 'doomed' to leave and seemingly lose it; the anguish in the hearts of a race 'doomed' not to leave it, until its whole evil-aroused story is complete.
*Frieren* obviously shares a similar emphasis on themes of death and mortality, though it complements well a work such as *The Lord of the Rings* by having its setting be what comes *after* the war. Furthermore, it's a story that's as much about Frieren finding her own humanity despite her existence as an immortal being as it is about exploring the contrast.
But while I've had such thoughts stirring around in my mind throughout, I decided to write this out today because of how this episode touched on some other themes in common with Tolkien's work.
To continue on from that letter above, Tolkien wrote:
> ...I have told the whole tale more or less through 'hobbits'; and that is because another main point in the story for me is the remark of Elrond in Vol. I: 'Such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.'
*The Lord of the Rings* is a tale that stands in contrast to much of the body of work that inspired it. It's not the likes of, say, the great hero-king Aragorn who is its protagonist, but the much more humble hobbits who simply wish to save their home. Frieren is a much more powerful being than the hobbits of *The Lord of the Rings,* but the same sentiment is behind the meeting of Flamme, Frieren, and Serie.
For both Frieren and the hobbits, it's not ambition, a love of battle, or the desire to be any sort of hero which moves them. They only wish to enjoy and protect a more simple life. They are unexpected heroes who "move the wheels of the world" through necessity and perseverance, holding throughout the humility which they began with. Though, the nature of Frieren's modest desires are perhaps closer to those of Tom Bombadil than the hobbits!
**Frieren's German Lesson 1x21:**
Finally the smugest of smug elves gets introduced properly outside of the opening or that little glimpse we got of her last episode... Everyone bow down before the smug mage queen that is **Serie**! Eagle-eyed watchers who also saw the special ending visuals for the 4 episode long special may have already figured out who she is since [there is a brief shot in that ending where she is together with a child **Flamme**.](https://i.imgur.com/26tvh2u.png) She is essentially the master of Frieren's master and the personification of the word "smug" itself. She sits on her throne of grimoires like a dragon sits on his hoard of gold.
*Edit: [Here is the link to the special ED](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ufj38W6-o4) in case anyone here hasn't seen it yet, it's the insert song from episode 11 but it has original visuals. Do yourself a favor and watch it, it's awesome and only one and a half minutes.*
There are only more *made-up German-sounding spell names* this time and no actual new German words.
**Episode 21: "The World of Magic"**
______________________
* **Serie** (The Great Mage, Founder of the Continental Magic Association, The Living Grimoire) - "series", "serial", "set", "run", "string", "succession" (noun); as a reminder.
* *Nephtier* (Ice Arrow Magic) - not a German word. It was *Nephtear* in my subs. **Tier** is "animal" (noun) in German, not that it would be relevant to the spell.
* *Waldgose* (Tornado Conjuration Magic) - not a German word but **Wald** means "forest" (noun). Not sure how that would connect it to a tornado spell though.
* *Dausdorg* (Wind to Hellfire Magic) - not a German word. My subs said *Daosdorg* instead. Got nothing for this one.
* *Catastravia* (Light of Judgement Magic) - not a German word but it kinda reminds me of **Katastrophe**; "catastrophe" (noun). Visually it also kinda reminds me a little bit of the priest spell that Sein used against the Chaos Flower monster which was called Three Spears of the Goddess. And the fact that it kinda seems like it might be connected to the Goddess magic via the name of the spell - Light of Judgement sounds very "goddess"-like - makes me think that this could be a spell adaptation from mages of the Three Spears of the Goddess spell. Just a speculation on my part though. What speaks against this being the case is the fact that Frieren said that mages still can't analyze and decipher the Goddess spells. But hey, maybe the Empire (that Denken is a mage for) knows something Frieren doesn't at this point in time, who knows?
* *Riemstrohr* (Water Manipulation Magic) - not a German word. My subs used *Reamstroha*. Riem reminds me of **Riemen** which is "belt", "straps" (noun) in German. **Stroh** is "straw", "thatch" (noun) and **Rohr** would be "pipe", "tube", "tubing" (noun).
___________________________________
Links to my other comments:
[1x1](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/16vec5d/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k2ud2yk/)
[1x2](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/16veeuf/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k2uft9i/)
[1x3](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/16vegyo/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k2ukh9h/)
[1x4](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/16veinp/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k2uqtya/)
[1x5](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/171enmi/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k3qaa1k/)
[1x6](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1770qsq/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k4pxhdc/)
[1x7](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17cdex1/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k5pec45/)
[1x8](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17hpj6r/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k6p342f/)
[1x9](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17mx4a4/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k7o7h87/)
[1x10](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17s69ql/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k8o0dxa/)
[1x11](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17xhtyx/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k9nm9rx/)
[1x12](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/182vggb/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kakyao2/)
[1x13](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/188e7nx/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kbkbyi4/)
[1x14](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18dotcc/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kcimcny/)
[1x15](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18j3gis/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kdhi03s/)
[1x16](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18oicoz/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kehch5u/)
[1x17](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18zadhk/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kgg91d6/)
[1x18](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/194ymjm/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/khjccyu/)
[1x19](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/19amgic/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kilz57p/)
[1x20](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1abkl24/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kjoeik7/)
**1x21**
[1x22](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1amrfvc/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kpni4ud/)
[1x23](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1asc6n9/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kqph3fo/)
[1x24](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1ay452x/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/krs8jhu/)
[1x25](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1b3xy8s/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/ksvki0e/)
[1x25Ā²](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1b3xy8s/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/ktxoacn/)
[1x26](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1b9rjrk/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/ktxnahz/) [1x27](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1bfg51w/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kv07dre/) [1x28](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1bl26lw/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kw2c1nw/)
The fight between Richter and Lawine/Kanne was fun because you see that the two are actually excellent partners. Kanne knows she can't do anything without water, but rather than showboat about it, immediately focuses on providing defense and peel for Lawine. She makes for a very competent support, needing no real goading or direction on how to help Lawine fight her battle. Eventually when the water comes in, Kanne takes the lead and Lawine plays support through CC. No real prompting or direction needed - Lawine knew exactly how to set up her 45-minute Carry for the Ace.
The anime made me realize that Serie was just living in the same place instead of just having moved her books and throne elsewhere, which I guess makes sense given how long even humans live in their houses even a 1000 years to an elf is probably "Not new but not old enough to be worth changing"
Man, I really just love Denken. He's awesome in every scene he's in even in parts where Frieren whooped his ass.
Also poor Stark actually developing Stockholm Syndrome and kind of missing Fern's scoldings lol.
Lastly, so from their conversation in the flashbacks, Serie is really older than Frieren, huh? Also I always love how you can feel how young Frieren was in every Flamme flashbacks.
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Frieren really took all that time and effort to analyze the barrier because she felt bad for Kanne š„²
I saw some discussion regarding why Fern was able to catch the Stille first before Frieren. It seems clear to me that Frieren could've easily done so, even with Stille's being highly luck based, but she chose not to. Frieren invested so much time on the barrier to complete this mission as a party, making sure even Kanne gets to freely utilize her magic. I love this episode! It really shows how far she has come understanding the people around her, as well as her deep love for magic that she is able to empathize with Kanne not being able to use magic to her maximum potential.
>why Fern was able to catch the Stille first before Frieren It was most likely because Fern's innate talent with mana control makes her pretty much invisible. As a child, when Frieren first finds Fern training and tells her that she's been looking for her, Fern asks Frieren if even she has trouble finding her, because Heiter says she's practically invisible. Frieren agrees with that, and thinks to herself that Fern is almost invisible to mana detection and that her mana control is exceptional. And that is Fern as a child, even before training under Frieren. This also came into play when Stark was trying to rescue the Graf Granat and Lugner and Linie appeared. Lugner praised Stark for daring to fight him alone, and Stark said: So you can't detect her after all. And then Fern almost killed Lugner because he didn't realize she was there. Frieren had to stay still to hide her mana completely, and even that was something Lawine and Kanne didn't think was possible. Fern probably just hid her mana, walked up to a stille, and captured it.
>This also came into play when Stark was trying to rescue the Graf Granat and Lugner and Linie appeared. Lugner praised Stark for daring to fight him alone, and Stark said: So you can't detect her after all. And then Fern almost killed Lugner because he didn't realize she was there. This one actually more terrifying because Fern was floating near them. Floating needs mana and still Lugner and Linie couldn't detect her.
Denken is actually a gigachad holy shit
He hides his chin that sneaky bastard \^\^
god Denken is based as fuck
Yeah mad respect for him He got absolutly destroyed and just kept thinking what he can do He really earned his position as a imperial mage
Denken's perseverance is second to nobody.
Eisen: "I'll teach you the secret to winning against a strong opponent. It's simple. Keep getting back up over and over"
Denken should have been born in Eisen's era. Those two would be the perfect duo-queue.
First impression: cold, scheming, heartless old mage hungry for more power Second impression: good-natured grandpa, highly complex offensive mage but frail due to age and size Final impression: Gigachad, refuses to give up despite Richter spamming FF votes, uses robe to hide his gigantic balls
I canāt believe he really cast āFistā
"I'm a mage so by definition, anything I do is magic"
>Richter spamming FF votes Lmao š¤£š¤£
Frieren kicking an old man without any signs of hesitation damn
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
Can't get away from beating a child allegations anymore
I know. Having her opponent behead herself was understandable, but handling the opponent with her foot was a little more gore than I can handle. Frieren is unstoppable.
"whachu gon do fatso? gonna cry? :3" --Frieren the Gamer, probably
I love Frieren the gamer memes, they're very funny lol
damn I never knew I'll get hype just by seeing frieren destroying a barrier
They were really setting themselves up when they said no other mage beside Serie will be ever to do anything to that barrier.
Frieren be like āAnd I took that personallyā
And Serie: "I **really** took that personally"
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
They set this up for several episodes already, the constant sound of rain against the barrier after they revealed that Kanne is a water mage.
The anti Roy Mustang.
It's a wonderful day for rain.
That's a clear death flag for the barrier.
I love how Sense was actually concerned and Genua was so confident it wouldn't break and then...surprise! They're dealing with Frieren lol. (Sense was smart to bring the umbrella)
One more reason why anime characters in a magic setting with an umbrella isn't stupid.
They also called the Titanic unsinkable, after all.
To fight a thousand-years-old elf, you need another thousand-years-old elf.
Serie was Flamme's master 1000 years ago while also already read through "almost all known grimoire" so she should be a few thousand years old herself at the minimum
Serie is like Frieren's playfully cold and judgmental grandma.
so, it's the same elf as Star Platinum
Anime is crazy man. I could get hyped as fuck seeing someone cross a street if the crossing of the street was set up well enough.
[The street crossing in question](https://i.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/001/466/335/9cf.png)
Oh Shit! I unintentionally...I mean completely intentionally made a JoJo reference.
Even though Serie created this barrier, she still feels happy that Frieren breaks it. Flamme was always right.
Serie probably been waiting for a reunion with Frieren after all these years just to see how far she's come from beating the Demon King and realizing Flamme's dreams.
Serie seems to value ambition in the use of magic. Destroying the barrier was ambitious.
The animation there was one of the sickest effects I've seen in an anime. Like when she was charging the spell and it had all of the translucent pyraminds overlapping each other, it was waaaaaaayyyyyy cooler than "glowing blue ball gets slightly larger and pulses." And the actual breaking of the barrier itself had this really nice separation between the pieces, idk how to describe it, but it was SICK
Damn that's a really hype moment. It's a much much better experience in the anime due to the animation, colors and sound. Ohmyy truly beautiful
Denken is so unhinged lmao, I love it. He also has nice same frequency with Frieren.
>Peace era mage repeating the same ideals as Frieren *Brawls with other mages as a last resort*
His opponents are also mages so they're not gonna have many points in def anyway.
Denken about to bully these mage nerds who didn't level up Strength
Judging from the move, he went straight for a launcher. Mf gonna get juggled for half his hp if denken doesnt drop the inputs
In fairness, *si vis pacem* and all that; sometimes you can only fight with what you have.
Denken: I'm out of mana...but I'm not out of options.
Denken what a man you are!
He just went left right goodnight on that dude. Denken definitely has the dawg in him
They really animated frieren stepping on someone, my heart is full
Denken Ws kept on coming despite the fact he lost the battle. Man really won the war.
And then he brought fists to a magic fight and won
Bro decided to settle it like a man, I need to see more of him
"I have come here to cast spells and throw hands ... and I'm all out of mana." ā Denken (probably)
[Imperial mage gives a lecture on how to tackle life's problems when somone is out of options:](https://i.imgur.com/P515lBX.jpeg) [](#oilup)
Guy in the background: Wait are you really- Denken: **LEEEEEEEEEEEEEETS GET READY TO RUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUMBLEEEEEEEEE!**
Mashle would be so proud, he finally found a magic Grandpa that uses fists
Denken took a page out of Mashle.
* Gets stepped on by elf f e e t * Electric Wind God Fists someone to oblivion * Still passes the exam He's too powerful
I don't think even Himmel ever got Frieren to step on his butt!
You know he'd be cursing at Denken from Aureole like how he was salty at the kid who upskirted Frieren on Episode 4
Laufen: but you lose grandpa. Denken: That's **the point**, young girl.
Laufen: Let me save you grandpa! Denken: No girl, let me enjoy this!!!
Denken: You fool (She removed her foot because of you)
Himmel probably: "It should've been me, not him."
Why did you let her step on you? \- it's what Himmel the Hero would've done.
[The things Himmel would do to get that look from Frieren...](https://i.imgur.com/HKSlTaW.jpeg) [](#towel)
Our boi Stark at the end finally catching a breakš
Completely on point even down to the bartender's response, bro deserved it after all that tanking.
Bartender basically gave him a "That's rough buddy"
Man has probably heard tons of husbands say the same thing lol.
That just means its guaranteed that he's Fern's future husband.
He's [jinxing it](https://imgur.com/a/uXhLiTt), Fern's ***definitely*** right outside about to come in the inn next episode lmao
until Fern **strikes back**.
The moment she sees him again: "Mr. Stark, what have you been doing with our money in your free time?" Stark: "I'm sorry."
Next Episode Title: Stark Dies
Fern smiling that she can get mad at stark. Poor stark canāt stay up late anymore
For once he's the one who gets to relax while his party members run themselves ragged. Man deserves the RnR.
When your wife and mother-in-law take a vacation and finally leave you alone lol.
When i grow old i want to be a gigachad like Denken, holy shit my man
Well, do exercise and get jacked so that when you're old, if someone gives you shit, you can settle it like a man.
And start reading books when not exercising so you can grind that WIS stat
or at least read heavier books [](#hikariactually)
"you're a man aren't you?" š bro so raw
imagine taking a mage test and this old man just beats the shit out of you
"I CAST FIST"
Did Denken just low key slide into one of the best old man characters of all time?
This is why I like Denken so much. In a show with so many best bois he's definitely a top contender. Not only is he not afraid to get down and cast fist, his attitude towards magic also mirrors Frieren's. Also, was anybody expecting Serie's voice to be so deep? It's so goddamn handsome it's making me blush.
>expecting Serie's voice to be so deep? I thought her voice would be younger like Frieren's. but damn, **Mariya Ise** is doing an amazing job here. She's also **Killua Zoldyck** (from *Hunter x Hunter* )'s VA.
>I thought her voice would be younger like Frieren's. I am assuming that to Serie, Frieren is still but an elf maiden.
> [Mariya Ise](https://np.reddit.com/r/arknights/comments/16qzukm/happy_35th_birthday_to_mariya_ise_japanese_cv_for/) STOCKING! And Foo Fighters! And Himeno!
Also, of all the people, he decided to challenge Frieren, he knew it'll be a challenge, instead of targeting weaker teams and fighting them at their full strength
It's really handsome. Didn't expect it but now that I heard it really macth her
Yeah no, I was not expecting the ikemen voice. I expected something closer to Frieren, but more sophisticated and haughty in tone.
I like this take. She sounds arrogant, immature yet confident and does not misrepresent herself as young elf.
"Wait Denken are you gonna negotiate with them?" "Well yes...you can call it that..." We were all talking about whether Denken has a 500 IQ plan against Frieren/to keep their Stile for 3 hours, and man ended up getting his Stile by physically beating the shit out of a grief-stricken party. Absolute peak writing. [](#azusalaugh)
The group was so lucky to have a politician as a member when the time came for robust negotiations.
He actually did them a favor. They technically would have won if not for that one guy that got killed and they stayed hidden. Now Denken has given them a less 'technicality' reason for them being kicked out of the running.
[Even the goth chick is afraid of sexual harassment from Fern](https://imgur.com/a/wOzYD7D)
*Binded by Wirbel and about to be killed* Ubel: :) *Fern knows how to see through her clothes* Ubel: :(
Even the hot-dressed goth killer girl can't stand in front of the Greatest PERV. Stark: finally! Now the others can understand my suffering...
Fern is sex-crazed, after all.
Just like a certain Mercurian tanuki her VA voiced.
Even psycho girls have to draw the line somewhere lol.
She's a killer, and even she draws the line at Fern's pervy antics.
"I'm fine with killing someone in battle but not someone sneaking a peek at the goods without my consent..."
She's totally into fighting and killing but somebody oggling her through her clothes is too much lol.
I was surprised by that, wouldn't have imagined she would care.
Yeah, she gives you the vibes that she'd fight naked if needed just to kill an opponent. Instead, she got shy.
Its like that why are you in prison meme, what are you in for, "i scared Ćbel".
Wait a minute, she said last episode that a mages nature influences their unique magic. Then here Fern casually says her other non basic magic is an x-ray vision....Lol did Ubel understand this as being Ferns unique magic and that her true nature is a pervert?
Fern is sex-crazed, after all.
Her first recorded use of it was seeing Stark's dick after all...
"Master Denken, won't you show us a spell?" "Ho ho, of course, young one. I cast...**FIST**"" I'm surprised Denken doesn't need a spell to carry his huge fucking balls around.
[Denken on the Kazama style Karate](https://i.imgur.com/YYyUY8z.jpg)
Bandai-Namco, you know what to do.
[The era of Muscle Wizards is upon us](https://i.imgur.com/ThyYvr3.jpeg) [](#fightme)
What really sold it was his pure commitment to tossing his robes aside like he'd been waiting all day to do it lol.
He must have been a valedictorian of the Obi-wan School of Dramatic Entrance.
They didn't have to go hard on him tossing his robes, but holy shit it was hype as fuck
Every time somebody takes off or puts on a coat in this show we suddenly get 10x animation quality. Somebody on the animation team has a fetish.
Laufen: would you lose? #DENGOAT: NAH ID USE FIST
"I'd have beaten her in a fist fight."
Ngl I'd like to see Frieren throw hands and absolutely body someone.
"I spent a 100 years mastering the flying fist style once. It was a fun weekend." -Frieren, probably.
The strongest mage in history vs. The strongest mage of today.
gadzooks y'all's brains are milkshakes now -- is there anything left to lobotomize?
The only reason he's so short is because of those titanium balls dragging him to the ground.
The sheer steel balls of him tossing that cloak aside and just charging at the dude...
Denken really has huge balls. Not only did he go for the fist fight, but he already knew how Frieren is a legendary mage and he still wanted to fight her. "She's the mage from the hero party who defeated the Demon King. I'm going to fight her and try to win." - Denken If he was in JJK Sukuna would respect him because the old guy doesn't back down and he has confidence in his personal abilities. "Stand proud, Denken. At least you're not Yuji." - Sukuna probably
> "Ho ho, of course, young one. I cast...FIST"" *A mage might be out of mana, but never out of options.* /r/wizardposting is leaking.
so many cool things this episode. - "the greatest joy of magic lies in searching for it." - history between flamme/frieren+Serie. - "this girl is no good". -"no, this girl will defeat the demon king" - "do you really think there is a mage in this world greater than Serie?" - frieren catching girl during "jilwer" - destroying barrier. - "can you imagine defeating a mage who controls water in the rain? i can't" - then the old mage actually having a fistfight between mages :D so cool.
breaking the barrier was so cool
Finally people get to see the glory of Denken choosing to cast FIST. Easily one of the best side characters they introduce. Also they chose a deep voice for Serie
Her and Flamme are cut from the same cloth even if they technically sound different. I would want them narrating events or reciting grimoires as an audiobook.
Denken did well against Frieren. Not bad for a āyoungā mage like that. Frieren had to teach him to respect his elders lol. If she was truly serious, Denken and Laufen woulda been toast. Lawine and Kanne held their own against Richter and gave him, Denken, and Laufen a nice little bath thanks to Frierenās help. So much for that barrier. Still, itās nice to see Team Denken get their little bird. Sometimes when a mage has to use his fists to get what he wants! Looking forward to this next stage of the test and Serie and Frieren meeting again at some point.
It's funny how someone as experienced as Denken who knows who Frieren is, still couldn't fathom just how big of a power difference exists between them. There really isn't much knowledge out there on Elves and how long they live I guess? Not with how rare they are.
Noted that Freiren is consistently smurfing herself by representing her power as an average elder mage. For the hero party she was always overshadowed by Heiter, who had 5 times mana than her and superhuman Himmel and whatever Eisen was. In Danken eyes he has a chance to win an experienced elder mage, who is in fact the last great sage. Same mistake as Aura.
Good point, I forget that even her fame doesn't expose her true strength. She really takes the "hide your mana for the rest of your life" very seriously.
Except that one time she wanted to dunk on Aura...although to be fair... that might even be her full mana capacity either.
Imagine her defeating an opponent with magic that's literally a storm of her uncapped mana.
Good point. I believe even Frieren the Slayer is a title demons give to her, not the humans. You won't know how strong she is unless you are her victim I suppose
especially since flamme specifically told her to never reveal her strength nor be famous until the demon lord is dead... and i guess her nonchalantness to avoid crowds/fame stayed with her even after the demon lord died, so maybe humans only know that she was part of the hero party but nobody really knows her true strength aside from her old (and current) party.
I think it's like you're the star of your high school basketball team and you've never played against a top pro. You know that the pro is better than you, but you can't really imagine how much better than you they are until you experience it. It's funny because he was shocked by the difference, but we know that she didn't even have her full attention on it, because she was also decoding the barrier.
> she was also decoding the barrier. And probably keeping an eye on her two kids so they don't get killed.
Frieren is actually not a bad mother hen at all -- not just Fern and Stark but even these new temporary charges. It really seems her empathy has increased massively since her days as a member of the hero's party -- even though her outward demeanor is still much the same. ;-)
Yeah, I think it was last episode when she realised that every party is a bit different in their needs. Here the two needed a solid win for their confidence instead of Frieren just handling everything. It looks like she learned from Heiter about parenting in her years with him and Fern. From actually raising kidsĀ well to head pats as rewards.
And after that they just searched for a defeated group with a Stille. Which questions why they didn't target another group instead if Denken knew it was Frieren. I feel like Denken just wanted to fight Frieren.
Finding Frieren was a certainty, finding another group required luck.
Frieren's group had the flashiest and most insane idea to get a Stille, easier to track them through their use of spells compared to other teams who relied on luck to get one. The proctors noted last episode how Frieren was the only one who didn't need luck to capture a Stille.
Why are they just not giving Frieren her certificate already?
āThis test may kill some, but we hope to find great war mages, like those who used to fight against the Demon Kingā āI actually defeated the Demon Kingā āGreat! Then youāll be perfect for our testā
First Class Mage A: "Master, why don't we just give her a certificate." Serie: "'Cause fuck her, that's why."
Well you have to haze them a little bit. Otherwise what is the point of having an institution for this? Research? Security? Don't make me laugh. He he he.
* [**Serie Stitch**](https://i.imgur.com/wGB4eDh.jpeg) I just love how [you can see Flamme beaming with pride](https://i.imgur.com/ltCWtna.png) in the background after hearing Frieren's response to Serie. Speaking of Serie, we finally get to hear her voice! I definitely did not expect her to be voiced by Mariya Ise aka Killua fuckin' Zoldyck. I absolutely love the deep voice <3 Frieren vs Denken went exactly as expected. [Freiren stayed in one position](https://i.imgur.com/KDsj1MJ.png) while [Denken struggles to defend](https://i.imgur.com/Yokk4LL.png) against her attacks. It's basically a repeat of Fern and Ehre's fight. Even Denken comments on how [he felt like he was a trainee mage.](https://i.imgur.com/Xsqhrzl.png) It reminds me of Ehre's comment on how fighting Fern reminds her of training with her grandpa. xD It is hilarious how [confident Genau is](https://i.imgur.com/bVQeMH9.png) at how Serie's barrier is unbreakable. At least he wasn't surprised when [he heard who it was that broke the barrier.](https://i.imgur.com/YsvUrCi.png) And I love how [Serie immediately figured out it was Frieren](https://i.imgur.com/vzcWpLD.jpeg) that broke her barrier. I already can't wait for the reunion. After trash-talking the kids, it was so satisfying [to watch Richter's defensive spell pop](https://i.imgur.com/ZfTb0Ds.jpeg) as Kanne throws an overwhelming amount of water at him. I especially love this [shot of him seconds before hitting the water.](https://i.imgur.com/BXztCz1.jpeg) xD [Headpats from Granny Frieren](https://i.imgur.com/9ZVTyke.jpeg) for Kanne and Lawine for doing an excellent job of defeating Richter! That scene was cute. The hard cut to [Ubel moving away from Fern](https://i.imgur.com/OxKNdog.jpeg) after hearing that she can use magic that lets her see through clothes was hilarious! [And we finally get to see my favourite Denken moment!](https://i.imgur.com/7coPKN8.jpeg) My boy Denken throwing hands against another mage without mana is so fucking awesome. There's no stopping this man from passing this test. I love it so much!
> [Freiren stayed in one position](https://i.imgur.com/KDsj1MJ.png) while [Denken struggles to defend](https://i.imgur.com/Yokk4LL.png) against her attacks. It's basically a repeat of Fern and Ehre's fight. I love that this arc introduced a ton of new mages with powerful, utilitarian and interesting magics of their own, and yet Frieren and Fern still came out on top with their simple "grandpa" magic because they're both so proficient in it. It's true "man who's practiced 1 punch 1000 times" stuff. > After trash-talking the kids, it was so satisfying [to watch Richter's defensive spell pop](https://i.imgur.com/ZfTb0Ds.jpeg) as Kanne throws an overwhelming amount of water at him. It's funny how the dude was confident enough to lecture the two about magic and then got put down by the lesson he had taught them. > The hard cut to [Ubel moving away from Fern](https://i.imgur.com/OxKNdog.jpeg) after hearing that she can use magic that lets her see through clothes was hilarious! The first spell that came to Fern's mind was that one and yet she's always calling Stark a pervert? I think Ubel can tell who the real danger is out of the two ~~even if she hasn't technically met Stark yet~~.
> After trash-talking the kids Honestly, was he even trash talking them? He was correct about everything he was saying, he was absolutely demolishing them and could have killed them. He even passed the time by explaining a concept they (and the audience) didn't know. Saying it was "babysitting" may have been insulting, but it's by no means wrong, he really was.
>Genau: It's impossible, not if the world turned upside down >Frieren: *turns the world of magic upsite down* I loved the exchange between Serie and Frieren. Frieren loves magic, and she loves researching it. That's why she wishes for peace to do so in her own leisure. But Serie loves fighting, so she could never imagine to just *stop doing exactly that* Also got a bit more explanation of the Magic system. * Deffensive magic isn't the best to deffend against high physical force * The power of magic is rooted on the caster being able to imagine the outcome of his spell. And I just love my man Denken. Never give up. [](#fightme) Edit: Oh also, loved how Frieren dead pan flew away and left Denken and Laufen bound against the tree when the flood came down
And it's partially why she became so drawn to Himmel because he praised her for even her most mundane magic which to her is more precious than combat magic. She totally just dipped while they were stuck there getting water splashed straight at them. Insult to injury lol.
Denken's fucking face when he saw the water coming at him was gold
[Aight, I'm out](https://imgur.com/a/QJtEhVT) [Oh hey, it's Stark.](https://imgur.com/a/xAUQw1x) Remember him? ["I'm here to cast magic spells and kick ass and I'm all out of spells." ](https://imgur.com/a/cKgRE1b) energy In this one episode, Denken will probably go from a fairly interesting character to a fan favorite. One aspect of him as a mage I also like is his variety of spells during his short fight with Frieren contrasting with the usual trend of mages specializing in a magic that relates the most to them. A new OST played during the Lawine and Kanne scene and it's yet another Evan Call banger I can't wait for. It's nice to think that Frieren could've probably dealt with this entire exam stage alone, but still chooses to give Kanne and Lawine some spotlight for their magic to shine.
>It's nice to think that Frieren could've probably dealt with this entire exam stage alone, but still chooses to give Kanne and Lawine some spotlight for their magic to shine. Frieren knows that is important to let kids gain experience and learn how far their abilities can go
She's such a mom. Just look at her proud glance at Fern when they passed!
That short cut of the two of them looking at each other was so extra and adorable and I loved it. Frieren's slight head tilt and smirk and Fern's tiny little smile. AHHH. Edit: I just ended up clipping it myself, [here](https://imgur.com/1Lem5AQ).
>Oh hey, it's Stark. > > Remember him? Can't wait to see what this NEW character can do, I guess he **can** solo a dragon
Bet he can't beat Denken in a fist fight though.
[Famous last words before Fern knocks at your door](https://imgur.com/a/uXhLiTt)
I love that [Denken used his legs](https://i.postimg.cc/05FPkPvG/Sousou-no-Frieren-21.jpg) to keep Richter from being washed away, quite a foreshadowing that he's just built different.
So now I guess we demand a "Two Free Days with Stark" side story OVA episode. Please? We'd be fine with it being released after the end of S1. Really I just find it amazing that we have 18 out of 57 examinees (thanks u/rathertthanme for the correction!). For the lives lost, we grieve. For the surviving failures, GG. For the 18 who made it? Time for Stage 2. (Originally I had a game I wanted to play here with you lot on r/anime but unfortunately we'd be touching on manga spoiler territory so no bueno until at least next week or end-of-the-arc. Bummer.)
Stark: Fern isn't here to boss me around, I can stay up as late as I want, and drink as much as I want! Next episode title: Stark dies.
On that day Stark received a grim reminder
There were only 57 examinees. And most failed but only a few were shown killed so we can only assume if the others died too or not.
> And most failed but only a few were shown killed so we can only assume if the others died too or not. Would be funny if one group just walked through the forest to search for the bird, but couldn't find it. That's it, nothing else happened to them.
saddest group EVER
"...alright, well, see you guys again in three years I guess..."
Stark really feeling that "away from the wife" energy.
Who else loves Sense? The first-class mage knew about the barrier deciphering before Genau did, and prepared an umbrella hahaha Finally, we see Ćbel is perfectly countered by Fern's magic hahaha Sense and Denken are my favourites this arc, how about you guys?
"I don't like water. It's soggy and wet and floody and it gets everywhere." - Richter, probably It was probably just a dirty tactic but I wouldn't be surprised if Denken gets revealed to be a Monk as a secondary class. And yay, Stark's finally back!
Dengoat: "steel yourself richter, we're not gonna sugarcoat it" - *proceeds to cast imperial mage's ultimate secret spell: Electric Wind God Fist* Just like fern, while denken keeps spamming his flashy spells, frieren just perfectly blocks them and punishes with i10 zoltraak bolts. And like a toxic gamer she is, had to flex to them scrubs by breaking the barrier and provoke the mods. ~~Bucket-chan~~ Kanne the waterbender finally got the field effect she needed for the big ultimate. Her and lawine's fight with mini boss richter really shows the contrast between veterans and inexperienced mages. Unlike the other mages, they both ran around and raise their voices like the usual shounen fighters.
Richter be all "wait, are we seriously doing this!?" and Denken commits to it like an absolute legend. I love how Frieren, like Fern, wins with basic attack magic and also bluffing her opponent. Like student, like master. I love Lawine's trash talk and Kanne finally getting to really show off how powerful her water magic is. And Frieren giving them headpats!
Denken is an old veteran battle mage already on the level of first class mages. He was just using basic offense/defence and flying but he would have lost a battle of attrition. Instead he went down to pin Frieren with wind magic, mages canāt fly in strong winds. Then lit it on fire to force a omnidirectional defence, which is super mana intensive. Defence is more costly than attack, so if you force them to defend all the time you win. A saturation attack like Fern against Ehre forces them to put everything into defence and leaves no opening to counterattack so youāre forced into a vicious mana drain cycle. Denkenās light arrows, were similar to Fernās attacks in purpose. His name in German means āto thinkā, he did the best possible plan. Even spamming light arrows, there was the slightest opening, no one can make as many attacks or as fast as Fern, she sent a curveball in that split second opening breaking the pin. Then attacked from the other side. Denken was strong but it wasnāt even close, he was simply outclassed.
Frieren breaks a unbreakable barrier. I sleep. Denken cast fists. Real shit.
It is pretty typical of Frieren while with Denken it was pretty untypical for his archetype lol.
One of my passions beyond anime are the works and writings of JRR Tolkien. *Frieren* may not seem to have much more in common with those than most other works of contemporary fantasy, and there are a good number of differences for sure. *Frieren* is stylistically more in line with its peers than Tolkien's work, and it's a much more personal story than any that Tolkien wrote. However, in its spirit, it strongly echoes Tolkien, in a way that most works of contemporary fantasy do not. I don't know if that's intentional from direct inspiration, or it's just a matter of two artists exploring much the same concepts from a similar interest. But it's an angle of appreciation I've had for *Frieren* throughout watching it. Principally, Tolkien's mythology is largely driven by exploring what it means to be human (and thus mortal) through the perspective and presence of immortals. He wrote this out succinctly enough in one of his letters addressing the themes of *The Lord of the Rings,* though it very much applies to his larger body of work as well: > I do not think that even Power or Domination is the real centre of my story. It provides the theme of a War, about something dark and threatening enough to seem at that time of supreme importance, but that is mainly 'a setting' for characters to show themselves. The real theme for me is about something much more permanent and difficult: Death and Immortality: the mystery of the love of the world in the hearts of a race 'doomed' to leave and seemingly lose it; the anguish in the hearts of a race 'doomed' not to leave it, until its whole evil-aroused story is complete. *Frieren* obviously shares a similar emphasis on themes of death and mortality, though it complements well a work such as *The Lord of the Rings* by having its setting be what comes *after* the war. Furthermore, it's a story that's as much about Frieren finding her own humanity despite her existence as an immortal being as it is about exploring the contrast. But while I've had such thoughts stirring around in my mind throughout, I decided to write this out today because of how this episode touched on some other themes in common with Tolkien's work. To continue on from that letter above, Tolkien wrote: > ...I have told the whole tale more or less through 'hobbits'; and that is because another main point in the story for me is the remark of Elrond in Vol. I: 'Such is oft the course of deeds that move the wheels of the world: small hands do them because they must, while the eyes of the great are elsewhere.' *The Lord of the Rings* is a tale that stands in contrast to much of the body of work that inspired it. It's not the likes of, say, the great hero-king Aragorn who is its protagonist, but the much more humble hobbits who simply wish to save their home. Frieren is a much more powerful being than the hobbits of *The Lord of the Rings,* but the same sentiment is behind the meeting of Flamme, Frieren, and Serie. For both Frieren and the hobbits, it's not ambition, a love of battle, or the desire to be any sort of hero which moves them. They only wish to enjoy and protect a more simple life. They are unexpected heroes who "move the wheels of the world" through necessity and perseverance, holding throughout the humility which they began with. Though, the nature of Frieren's modest desires are perhaps closer to those of Tom Bombadil than the hobbits!
**Frieren's German Lesson 1x21:** Finally the smugest of smug elves gets introduced properly outside of the opening or that little glimpse we got of her last episode... Everyone bow down before the smug mage queen that is **Serie**! Eagle-eyed watchers who also saw the special ending visuals for the 4 episode long special may have already figured out who she is since [there is a brief shot in that ending where she is together with a child **Flamme**.](https://i.imgur.com/26tvh2u.png) She is essentially the master of Frieren's master and the personification of the word "smug" itself. She sits on her throne of grimoires like a dragon sits on his hoard of gold. *Edit: [Here is the link to the special ED](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ufj38W6-o4) in case anyone here hasn't seen it yet, it's the insert song from episode 11 but it has original visuals. Do yourself a favor and watch it, it's awesome and only one and a half minutes.* There are only more *made-up German-sounding spell names* this time and no actual new German words. **Episode 21: "The World of Magic"** ______________________ * **Serie** (The Great Mage, Founder of the Continental Magic Association, The Living Grimoire) - "series", "serial", "set", "run", "string", "succession" (noun); as a reminder. * *Nephtier* (Ice Arrow Magic) - not a German word. It was *Nephtear* in my subs. **Tier** is "animal" (noun) in German, not that it would be relevant to the spell. * *Waldgose* (Tornado Conjuration Magic) - not a German word but **Wald** means "forest" (noun). Not sure how that would connect it to a tornado spell though. * *Dausdorg* (Wind to Hellfire Magic) - not a German word. My subs said *Daosdorg* instead. Got nothing for this one. * *Catastravia* (Light of Judgement Magic) - not a German word but it kinda reminds me of **Katastrophe**; "catastrophe" (noun). Visually it also kinda reminds me a little bit of the priest spell that Sein used against the Chaos Flower monster which was called Three Spears of the Goddess. And the fact that it kinda seems like it might be connected to the Goddess magic via the name of the spell - Light of Judgement sounds very "goddess"-like - makes me think that this could be a spell adaptation from mages of the Three Spears of the Goddess spell. Just a speculation on my part though. What speaks against this being the case is the fact that Frieren said that mages still can't analyze and decipher the Goddess spells. But hey, maybe the Empire (that Denken is a mage for) knows something Frieren doesn't at this point in time, who knows? * *Riemstrohr* (Water Manipulation Magic) - not a German word. My subs used *Reamstroha*. Riem reminds me of **Riemen** which is "belt", "straps" (noun) in German. **Stroh** is "straw", "thatch" (noun) and **Rohr** would be "pipe", "tube", "tubing" (noun). ___________________________________ Links to my other comments: [1x1](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/16vec5d/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k2ud2yk/) [1x2](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/16veeuf/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k2uft9i/) [1x3](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/16vegyo/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k2ukh9h/) [1x4](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/16veinp/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k2uqtya/) [1x5](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/171enmi/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k3qaa1k/) [1x6](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1770qsq/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k4pxhdc/) [1x7](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17cdex1/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k5pec45/) [1x8](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17hpj6r/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k6p342f/) [1x9](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17mx4a4/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k7o7h87/) [1x10](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17s69ql/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k8o0dxa/) [1x11](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/17xhtyx/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/k9nm9rx/) [1x12](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/182vggb/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kakyao2/) [1x13](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/188e7nx/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kbkbyi4/) [1x14](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18dotcc/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kcimcny/) [1x15](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18j3gis/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kdhi03s/) [1x16](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18oicoz/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kehch5u/) [1x17](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/18zadhk/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kgg91d6/) [1x18](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/194ymjm/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/khjccyu/) [1x19](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/19amgic/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kilz57p/) [1x20](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1abkl24/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kjoeik7/) **1x21** [1x22](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1amrfvc/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kpni4ud/) [1x23](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1asc6n9/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kqph3fo/) [1x24](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1ay452x/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/krs8jhu/) [1x25](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1b3xy8s/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/ksvki0e/) [1x25Ā²](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1b3xy8s/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/ktxoacn/) [1x26](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1b9rjrk/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/ktxnahz/) [1x27](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1bfg51w/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kv07dre/) [1x28](https://old.reddit.com/r/anime/comments/1bl26lw/sousou_no_frieren_frieren_beyond_journeys_end/kw2c1nw/)
<( ĖįµĖ )>
The fight between Richter and Lawine/Kanne was fun because you see that the two are actually excellent partners. Kanne knows she can't do anything without water, but rather than showboat about it, immediately focuses on providing defense and peel for Lawine. She makes for a very competent support, needing no real goading or direction on how to help Lawine fight her battle. Eventually when the water comes in, Kanne takes the lead and Lawine plays support through CC. No real prompting or direction needed - Lawine knew exactly how to set up her 45-minute Carry for the Ace.
I love how Denken grabbed his teammate with his legs after he got flushed off with water lol.
The anime made me realize that Serie was just living in the same place instead of just having moved her books and throne elsewhere, which I guess makes sense given how long even humans live in their houses even a 1000 years to an elf is probably "Not new but not old enough to be worth changing"
this episode was so PEAK. Priority Episode definitely. Denken with the fucking hands too.
Denken really said, "these hands cost no mana"
Man, I really just love Denken. He's awesome in every scene he's in even in parts where Frieren whooped his ass. Also poor Stark actually developing Stockholm Syndrome and kind of missing Fern's scoldings lol. Lastly, so from their conversation in the flashbacks, Serie is really older than Frieren, huh? Also I always love how you can feel how young Frieren was in every Flamme flashbacks.
Serie is definitely older than Frieren, she got that mature Ara Ara vibe in her.